Clothes drier with horizontal cylinder



June 22, 1954 FOWLER CLOTHES DRIER WITH HORIZONTAL CYLINDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 20, 1952 #vz/ewrU/F PAUL L. FOWLER June 22, 1954 P. L. FOWLER 2,681,513

CLOTHES DRIER WITH HORIZONTAL CYLINDER Filed Feb. 20, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 wyf/d A TTUF N&

June 1954 P. L. FOWLER 8 CLOTHES DRIER WITH HORIZONTAL CYLINDER Filed Feb. 20, 1952 r 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

.47 TTUFF/VEJ/ June 22, 1954 P. L. FOWLER 2,681,513

CLOTHES DRIER WITH HORIZONTAL CYLINDER Fil ed Feb. 20, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 60. //\/A/E/\/7'UF PAUL L. FOWLER A TTUF N Patented June 22, n 1954 CLOTHES DRIER WITH HORIZONTAL CYLINDER Paul L. Fowler, Portland, Oreg.

Application February 20, 1952, Serial No. 272,630

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to clothes driers and particularly to a clothes drier of the tumbling type in which the drier is mounted on a horizonta1 axis.

. An object of this invention is to provide a drier of suificient capacity to handle a complete washer load at one time.

The second object is to subject the clothes to a. gentle tumbling action which will raise the clothes and gently lower them across a steady flow of fresh drying air.

The third object is to construct a drying cylinder which will minimize the wear on the fabrics by presentin a smooth porcelain enamel surface instead of a screen or a relatively rough galvanized surface.

j The fourth object is to provide a maximum size of door opening allowing easy accessibility to the cylinder and to employ a convex glass door to assist in the rotation of the clothes from the front to the back of the cylinder at the same time they are moving in a counter-clockwise direction.

The fifth object is to provide an air intake and blower system in which air is taken in at the bottom front of the machine and the air is then drawn across the base and into the air duct containing the heating elements. The air is set in motion by a fan of sufiicient capacity to allow for outdoor venting through the exhaust system and in which the intake and exhaust ports are disposed as remotely as possible.

The. sixth object is to use a sag-proof coil type of element which operates at a black heat thus insuring long life for the heating elements; that is, no glow is visible.

The seventh object is to provide an oversized lint trap. Top and rear vents are provided which facilitate installation, and the electrical outlet at the rear of the base permits connecting the drier without removing the back panel.

The eighth object is to provide a reversible door for right and left-hand openings.

. The ninth object is to provide certain safety features including an automatic motor overload switch and an element thermostat switch which cuts elements off at 180 in the event of motor failure and prevents possible damage to the clothing, and also a door actuated switch which cuts out-motor and shuts off heat when door is opened.

The tenth object is to construct the cabinet as to give maximum accessibility which requires only the removal ofthe front pane1 to permit the removal of the. cylinder and exposing th entire.

interior for servicing.

The eleventh object is to,

provide an improved igrmof triplecylinder seal.

The twelfth object is to provide a special, trun: nion gear cylinder mounting whereby there is eliminated a main bearing against which a load of from 68 to 70 pounds must be supported.

The thirteenth object is to provide a singledial control providing for time and temperature desired at only one dial setting. Provision is also made for automatic shut-off for any desired dryness or type of fabric.

These and other objects are accomplished in the manner set forth in the following specifica-. tions as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of the drier.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the frame show.. ing the hot air inlet, the exhaust fan opening and the rollers upon which the cylinder rests.

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1. it

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hinge.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the drive from the motor to the exhaust fan and driving rolls.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective of: the heater. 1

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the exhaust stack showing the lint trap, thermostat and vent hole. ,1

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the drying cylinder. taken along the line 9-9 in Fig. 6. 1

Fig. 10 is a section through the seal taken along the line Ill-l0 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the; loading door opening showing hinge mounting lugs on each side so that the door can be mounted to swing right or left to suit the user.

Fig. 1221s a vertical section taken along the line l2-|2 inFig. 6.

Like numbers of reference refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.v

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is shown a base 2|] having the dcwnturnedtflange 2 l: and the upturned side frames 22 which are joined. by theback plate 23 and the low front frame 24 on which are mounted the cylinder supporting idler rolls 25. The rolls 25 are mounted on the shaft 26 which journals in the plates 23 and-24,= and the driver rolls 2i and 28 which are mounted cn the drive shaft 29 on which is secured a V-" i rooved pulley 30 which is driven by a belt. 3|

from the double-grooved pulleys 32 on the motor 33 mounted on the base 34. The wall 35 has 'a' closed front 36 having an opening 31 provided with an outturned flange 38 around which is secured a resilient sealing plate 39. The opening 3'! constitutes the loading and unloading opening for the cylinder 40. The cylindrical outer wall rests upon the rolls 25, 21 and 28 and can rotate thereon when driven by the motor 33.

The rear end of the cylinder is provided with an inturned flange 4| having an outturned lip 42 over which is placed a head 43 of wire cloth in the center of which is placed the rear deflector 44 which is convex on its forward side and has a disk 45 on its rearward side which is held in place by a bar 46 and the metal screws 41 which pass through the head 43 into the disk '45.

Radially disposed across the head 43 are the resilient sealing strips 48, one side of which is held by the strips 49 and U bolts 53 to the head 43, while the portion 5! offthe seal 48 bears cylindrical wall 35 is a blanket of insulating mater-ial 55 held in place by the bands 55.

Secured to the flanges 2| by means of the screws 51 are the cabinet sides 58 which are joined by a back 58 secured to the flanges 2i by means of the screws 60.

The front plate 24 is secured to the flange 2% by means of the screws 6i. A front 52 connects the sides 58 and terminates at its lower end 53 on a level with the outturned flange E4 of the front plate '24. The front 62 has a rectangular door opening .65 formed therein having a recessed portion 66 for the rectangular door 6i. The door opening 65 is provided, along both opposite vertical edges, with angle clips 68 containing a pin 69 :upon which a semi-circular hinge '10 and its radial arm II can swing while the outturned arm 12 is attached to one side of the door 6! enabling the door to swing right or left handed.

L'I'h'e door 61 is provided with a circular flange 13 in which is inserted a transparent front defi'ector 14 which is held in place by the outer door facing 15. .A seal 16 is placed between the door 61 and the contacting face of the recess '56. A suitable handle ll is provided for the swinging side of the door 61.

' The back frame23 is provided with an opening 78 which registers with the :motor33. Above the shaft 'ZQilS formed an opening '59 for the exhaust fan '80 contained within the casing 3| and mounted on the .shaft 82 on which is secured a belt pulley 83 which is driven by the belt fi l from the motor pulley '32.

In the back plate 23 is a hot air inlet opening 85 which is at the upper end of a stack 85 whose rounded top '87 terminates at the upper edge of the opening '85, while the curved baffle 38 terminates approximately in the middle of the openrolls, the forward end of said cylinder having ing 85 and serves to break up the concentration connected to a suitable source of power under the control of a thermostat 98 for controlling the various amounts of heat delivered to the drier v trap through which extends the upturned duct I02 through which heated air coming from the compartment Hi3 passes upwardly into a wire cloth lint trap iii-i having a cover I05. The lint I04 has an outturned flange I06 which rests upon 'the top ill! of the stack I00, shown 'in brokensection in Fig. 3. An air outlet duct I08 opens outwardly through the top l0! and provides a means of escape of the air passing through the lint trap 104 and outwardly into the atmosphere.

A top 109 covers the entire cabinet and is held in plaoeby means of the screws HQ.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that a quantity of moist clothes is placed within the drying cylinder 40 and that the ther mostatic switch 98 is set at the desired temperature and the switch 99 turned to cause the motor 33 to rotate at a desired speed, it will be seen that air is drawn by the exhaust fan 86) from the cylinder 40 and replaced by air heated by the elements 96 and discharged through the opening 35 into the upper portion of the cylinder 40 at different levels owing to the baffle 38. It will be observed that as the cylinder 49 is revolved and the clothes carried upwardly to a tumbling point instead of remaining in a single fixed vertical plane, those nearest the corners of the cylinder will fall upon the rear deflector 4 5 or the front deflector l4 and encouraged to move toward the middle of the drying cylinder, and all the time they are given a gentle agitating and aerating movement which shortens the drying time and is not injurious to the fabrics. The lint itself is collected the lint trap and can be removed by simply lifting out the trap and disposing of the lint in :any desired manner. 1 J

' I am aware that many forms of clothes driers havebeen constructed in the past. It is, therefore, not my intention to cover such devices broadly but I do intend to cover all such forms. and modifications thereof as fall fairly within the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clothes drier of the class described havingin combination a supporting structure including an upright back frame and a cradle ofl supporting driving rollssupported by said structure, an imperforate cylinder mounted on said a loading opening along its axis and the other end of said cylinder having a perforated head,-

bothends ofsaid cylinder having inwardlycurved deflectors, the cylindrical portion of said cylin-- der having inwardly extending tumbling vanes,

radial sealing strips "on said perforated headadaptedto engage said back frame, said back frame having a hot .air inlet and a moist air outlet opening formed therein within the area swept bysaid sealing strips, means for delivering heated air to said hot air inlet and means for extracting moist air from the moist air outlet, together with means for extracting lint from said moisture laden air.

*2. .Acl'othes drier comprising a cabinet having a pair of shafts in the lower portion thereof. each 5 of which has a pair of rollers mounted thereon, an imperforate cylinder resting on said rollers and revolvable thereby, one end of said cylinder consisting of a head of wire cloth, said head being divided into a plurality of separate sections by means of radial sealing strips, a back plate adjacent to said wire cloth head and engaging said sealing strips, said back plate having hot air inlet and moist air outlet openings formed therein within the circumference of said cylinder, means for heating air and delivering it through said inlet opening into the upper portion of said cylinder and a lint removing moist air outlet substantially opposite said hot air inlet.

3. A clothes drier of the horizontal cylinder type having in combination a supporting frame, an imperforate cylinder supported by said frame, rollers engaging the exterior of said frame, a wire cloth head for one end of said cylinder, a

seal around said head engaging said frame, radial seals on said head dividing it into a plurality of sectors, said frame having an inlet opening for heated air within the limits of a single sector.

4. The drier as described in claim 3, together with a lint trap between the outlet of said moisture laden air and the atmosphere.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,358,599 White Nov. 9, 1920 2,262,186 Lindberg NOV. 11, 1941 2,550,118 Kauifman, II Apr. 24, 1951 2,600,210 Constantine June 10, 1952 2,619,734 Geldhof et al Dec. 2, 1952 

